GREEN SEA TURTLES

Green Sea Turtles



Green Sea Turtles

Introduction

Chelonia mydas the Green Sea Turtle belongs to the family Cheloniidae and is among largest of the sea turtles. They have a wide habit that ranges throughout subtropical and tropical oceans around the world, with two different populations in the Atlantic (Chelonia m. mydas) and Pacific Oceans (C. m. agassizii). Even with a large distribution the Green Sea Turtles are on the endangered species list. Green Turtles are named for the greenish color of their body fat. Their juveniles, ranging from 3-7 years old, have an average weight of 200-350 pounds and the adults Green Sea turtle's weight reaches up to 500 pounds with the males generally larger than the females. They can have a life span up to 80 years (www.earthtrust.org).

The juvenile Green Sea Turtles are at least two and a half long in length. During their youth Green Sea turtles are omminvourus consume worms, small crustaceans, aquatic insects, sea grass and algae. The extra protein could help them develop their 4 foot long hard shell for adult life which the Green Sea Turtles have the hardest shell of sea turtle varieties (www.earthtrust.org). They are considered as the only herbivorous as adults, overwhelming sea grass and algae. Herbivores are adult Green Sea turtles that graze sea grass and consider as the largest sea grass grazer in world.

Discussion

Ecology and Spatial Distribution of Green Turtle

The most important ecological factor distribution of Green Sea Turtle for their nesting and grazing is that the Green Sea Turtles need sandy with a shallow warm sea with lots of sea grasses. Major nesting locations that are recognized in the Caribbean are the island of Aves in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. Costa Rica is one the most important nesting site due to its many Sea Turtle hatcheries and has one of the more progressive ecological conservation reserves of Latin American. In South America, there are isolated beaches in Suriname and French Guiana in which there are stories of hatchery volunteers having to bolt out at night to save the Green Sea Turtle eggs from poachers.

In Florida is the Hutchinson Island. Along with the Caribbean Sea, there are smaller nesting sites have been noted on the eastern sea board states of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. However, in the Southern parts of the Atlantic Ocean, they can be found in the island of Ascension, which is an anomalous island located between South America and Africa. Their nesting site pretty much can be found throughout the subtropical sea with temperatures that range in the 20 degrees Celsius (Oudenhoven, 2006).

When a sea turtle emerges on an oceanic beach to nest, she usually enters a relatively large, heterogeneous environment in which she must select her nest site. Where she places her nest can affect her reproductive success and fitness through her own survival through the survival of her offspring, and through the sex of her offspring. The largest green turtle (Chelonia mydas) colony in the Atlantic ...